Pottermore “Home”: A Dark Wizard’s Mansion

Alright. In all sincerity, I do not actually want to become a Dark Wizard. Becoming a Dark Wizard would involve being evil and all that. And being evil would not at all help my “good guy” image. However, if being a Dark Wizard means that I get to live in a Dark Wizard’s mansion, then count me in!

A Dark Wizard’s mansion, you say? Yes. That is what I say. Pottermore at PlayStation Home (which I’ve shortened in the title to simply “Pottermore Home”) has a new apartment for purchase, which is called (you guessed it!) “A Dark Wizard’s Mansion”. Now there are two options for Harry-Potter-themed personal apartments at “Pottermore Home”: this new one and the previously released “A House in Hogsmeade”.

Who knows what Dark Magic has been performed within these walls? This centuries-old stately home is the perfect residence for the aspiring Dark witch or wizard. Please be aware that only Pottermore furniture can be placed in Pottermore personal apartments and that all chat functions have been disabled. Pottermore furniture can be purchased from the Pottermore shop.

Unlike the “public” Pottermore locations at PlayStation Home, the personal apartments are not free. But then, it makes sense that they aren’t free, because the personal apartments are totally customizable and furnish-able. What you have to decide is whether these virtual locations are worth the money.

In my review for “A House in Hogsmeade“, I mentioned that I think paying for the personal apartments (and everything else for sale within the Pottermore Shop at PlayStation Home) is totally worth the cost, simply because the other locations are given to us entirely for free. If purchasing items from Pottermore (including the ebooks and audio books from the Pottermore.com Shop online, as well as the items within the Pottermore Shop at PlayStation Home) means that Pottermore continues to be successful, that also means that more and more content will be given to us for free. More locations within Hogwarts (or Hogsmeade!) at PlayStation Home. More backstory from J.K. Rowling at Pottermore.com.

What is the cost for this new space, you ask? Well, “A Dark Wizard’s Mansion” costs $4.99. Sure, you might think it’s a bit ridiculous to buy a virtual space for $5. But think of this: “A House is Hogsmeade” costs $6.49, a full $1.50 more (though cheaper than when it was first released at $6.99), and this new mansion is a much larger space for less money. A bargain, I think.

While “A House in Hogsmeade” is more nostalgic—the constant snowy weather is what really does it for me—this new space is pretty awesome too. Yes, it might be dark and drizzling outside, but at least you can go outside, since this mansion features a courtyard! Besides that, there are more rooms—four, not including the courtyard and the top of the stairs—than the “House in Hogsmeade”, which has three rooms that are much smaller besides.

You need more convincing? Take a look at these twelve pictures that I took at my newly-purchased mansion. I really have only one disappointment: I can clearly see a place in one of the smaller rooms where all the books are stored, but it is unreachable. You’d think that you could get to it by climbing the grand staircase and opening the side door at the top of the stairs, but the doors are inoperable. Compared with all the windows that you can see on the outside, only a fraction of those rooms inside are accessible. Not even all the lit windows (in the picture above) are accessible. In other words, unlike the TARDIS, this mansion is much bigger on the outside.

One fireplace: two rooms!

View from the stairs.

Inaccessible bookshelves.

Awesome paintings.

Inoperable doors.

Courtyard outside.

Convinced yet? If you are, you may be wondering where you can buy this mansion. On your PlayStation 3, go to the PSN menu, then to PlayStation Home. From there, go all the way left to the “Core Spaces”, then all the way down to the “Mall 2nd Floor”. From there, walk on over to the Pottermore shop! It is the third virtual shop on the right. You can’t walk into the shop, but once the “Purchase Items” option appears, press X. Here you can also purchase clothing and pets (most of which you can also purchase within Diagon Alley), in addition to furniture, but the fourth option is where you can purchase the Pottermore-exclusive personal spaces.

If you do buy your own Dark Wizard’s mansion, let me know what you think of it in the comments!